Natural Solutions

Human problems can often be solved by turning to nature.
These pages show how nature provides innovative designs, materials
and processes which have had a revolutionary impact on human
well-being.

Biodiversity is thevariety of
life on earth. It includes the diversity of
individual species, the genetic diversity within species and the
range of ecosystems that support them.

Humans depend on biodiversity for a wide range of
goods and services. Biodiversity performs vital functions
like recycling and cleansing the air and water. The sheer
variety of life on earth provides a vast resource which we draw on
all the time to maintain and improve our quality of life.

Biodiversity loss means that life on earth is becoming
less varied. The most fragile species and habitats
are disappearing, leaving only those able to cope with the impact
of humans. Will the natural systems that sustain human
civilization continue to function if we lose a tenth of all
species? A quarter? A half? Or is the destruction of
any single species too great a risk?

The extinction of any of the species described in
the case studies on these pages would have meant a lost
opportunity for human advancement. According to
scientists’ best guess, 80 – 90% of the species on earth have yet
to be discovered. We will never know what discoveries we
could have made from the species that have already gone
extinct.